Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB) Short Interest Update

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,910,000 shares, an increase of 109.1% from the March 31st total of 1,870,000 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,360,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Gerdau from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $5.00 to $6.00 in a research note on Monday, April 15th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Gerdau by 175.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,074 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 5,138 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in Gerdau in the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC purchased a new position in Gerdau in the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Gerdau in the third quarter worth $55,000. Finally, IPG Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Gerdau during the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors own 1.49% of the company's stock.

Gerdau Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGB traded up $0.12 on Friday, hitting $3.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,893,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,441,841. The company has a market capitalization of $7.61 billion, a PE ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.43. Gerdau has a 1 year low of $3.42 and a 1 year high of $5.13.

Shares of Gerdau are scheduled to split before the market opens on Tuesday, April 30th. The 6-5 split was announced on Tuesday, April 30th. The newly created shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Tuesday, April 30th.

Gerdau (NYSE:GGB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter. Gerdau had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 15.05%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Gerdau will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gerdau Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a $0.0202 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Gerdau's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.00%.

About Gerdau

Gerdau SA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer company. It operates through Brazil Business, North America Business, South America Business, and Special Steel Business divisions. The company provides semi-finished products, including billets, blooms, and slabs; common long rolled products, such as rebars, wire rods, merchant bars, light shapes, and profiles to the construction and manufacturing industries; drawn products comprising barbed and barbless fence wires, galvanized wires, fences, concrete reinforcing wire mesh, nails, and clamps for manufacturing, construction, and agricultural industries; and special steel products used in auto parts, light and heavy vehicles, and agricultural machinery, as well as in the oil and gas, wind energy, machinery and equipment, mining and rail, and other markets.